


THE DAY THE LIGHT DIED

by ismellitblue



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Gen, Murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 17:17:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7231603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ismellitblue/pseuds/ismellitblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko dies during the agni kai and Azula discovers her perfect world isn't so perfect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	THE DAY THE LIGHT DIED

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic as a way of trying to potray Azula in a different light.Sure in canon she's as crazy as Bellatrix Lestange, if not more so,but i feel she deserves a chance.Cracks in her sanity were visible at an early age and got worse as time went on.Perhaps if someone had paid more attention towards her as a person, rather than a prodigy things would have been different.  
> Anyway here's my take on the whole thing.Oh in case you were wondering i don't own atla,sad but true.Enjoy

“…. And suffering shall be your teacher!”The firelord roared.

The smell of burnt flesh filled the arena and she smirked. When their father announced Zuzu’s banishment she almost giggled.Almost. Finally she’d be getting what was rightfully hers. No more Zuzu standing in her way all because he’d been born first.He’d be off running in circles, like a headless ostrich-horse while she had her father’s love and the crown.If she walked with an extra bounce in her step on the way to the new firelord’s study, none of the guards dared comment.

Father made time to talk to her about her duties as the new heir apparent.His face had been as stoic as always, but there had been a gleam of pride in his eyes.She’d lapped up the attention,all the while promising herself never to be weak,to never become Zuko. Her bubble had been burst the following morning when a servant had interrupted their breakfast. The vermin had visibly cowered under their glares,before he’d bowed even more deeply and started babbling.

Half-way through his little speech Azula had put her chopsticks down, a cold feeling settling deep in her belly.Like winged-serpent it coiled around her body until she could barely move.

Zuzu,was dead.

He’d died just as the sun rose. An Agni blessed death her mind supplied ,even as she felt the rest of her was shutting down.He’d entered the hall of the ancestors with the blessing of Agni’s light, very few firebenders ever get that.She briefly wondered why her mind was focusing on one of her tutor’s lessons and ignoring the badger-mole that had been dropped on her.

Zuko was dead.

The statement echoed through her head but she had trouble believing it.The dum-dum had the audacity to die on her.He’d broken the rules.He was supposed to live drowning in jealousy at never being able to best her at anything. That was the way of the world.Azula always won and Zuko came in last looking lost and pathetic crying for their mother.She wouldn’t come of course, but Azula would have their father and Zuko would have nothing.

But he’d taken that from her.She was so angry her eyes stung. Why was her vision going fuzzy?She blinked her eyes to clear them and caught a glimpse of her father’s face. The corner of his lips was twitching. He was fighting a smirk. Why was he happy? Couldn’t he see how bad this was.Zuko was gone,he wasn’t coming back.No one was as much fun to manipulate as Zuko was.She wouldn’t be able to ruin his day to make herself feel better anymore.She wouldn’t even be able to contend herself with thoughts of him lost at sea chasing the ghost of the avatar.

A strange noise bubbled from her throat and she quickly suppressed it.The firelord turned to her and she could see his eyes spark with deep satisfaction.Once the servant was gone his face really did break into a smirk.If it were anyone else she would have said he was grinning but his ‘grin’, held way too much teeth. The princess felt her own face rearranging to mirror his expression.Something in her cracked and turned to dust at the action but her body kept going.She picked up her chopsticks and resumed eating.Everything tasted like ash but she swallowed it all down and waited until she was dismissed. She walked through the palace with the same smirk stuck on her face.One foot in front of the other,head held high and back straight.

She made her way to her rooms walking past Zuko’s wing without a second glance. Something ached inside of her,it clawed at her ribcage.It wanted something ,but she did not know what.She did not even have a name for the beast in her chest.She only knew that it squeezed her heart and made her breathing labored.It made her vision fuzzy again and she could feel something wet trailing down her cheek.

Weeks passed and the palace carried on as usual.It was as though Zuzu had never existed.Even his room had been cleaned of all his belongings.No one even talked about him anymore.At times she’d doubt he was ever real.In those moments she’d hold the slightly burnt turtle-duck plushie she’d stolen from him and replay all her victories against him in her mind.It didn’t make the clawing beast in her chest go away but having proof that she hadn’t made up an older brother made her feel better.She was still Azula,crown princess,prodigy,absolute power and above all pure _fire_.

She hung on to that belief until her world was turned upsidedown again.Fa…No,the firelord had burned her.Father would never hurt her ,but the firelord had to instill discipline.He’d burned her when she’d had trouble executing a kata properly.Just a little bit ,but he’d burned her…on purpose.Then he’d asked if she was turning into Zuko.It was the first time someone had said his name and father made it sound like he was talking about a worthless animal.With that the session had been cut short and she’d gone back to her rooms.

That evening she overheard the servants talking about Iroh.He was going on a long voyage the following morning.Azula mentally slapped herself,how could she only be hearing about this now!She always knew what was going on in the palace. His tea-loving cookiness was running away and she had’t had a chance to rub it in his face.She hadn’t seen him since the murder,no Agni kai.A perfectly lawful agni kai, to suggest otherwise would be treason.

Deciding to take her mind of the agni kai Azula went to spy on her uncle.An hour later she hadn’t managed to track him down.All she had was the location of the old ship he’d be using.Tch…the thought of royalty travelling in that old hunk of metal made her skin crawl.

That night she ate dinner alone.A clear message of disapproval from the firelord.She glanced at the spot where Zuko used to sit and quickly turned her gaze back to her food.She’d always fantasized about a life without Zuko and how perfect it could be.She never realized that his end would mean her destruction.A story she’d read before she’d learned how to firebend drifted into her mind and she almost laughed bitterly at how well the tale depicted her current situation.

_“…..There once lived a powerful dragon that ate all the creatures on its island ,not sparring a single one.To him they were all weak and undeserving of a place in his kingdom.Only once there were no more creatures left did he realize his folly.The other animals had been weaker than him but their weakness allowed him to grow strong.Without them he had nothing to eat,and had gradually grown weaker and weaker until he was even more pathetic than his victims and had died slowly and painfully…”_

Recalling the ending Azula’s shoulders slumped slightly at the thought of fading away.At the rate she was going she knew she wouldn’t last long.The firelord wouldn’t tolerate weakness,he’d end her if she continued to deteriorate.Her father loved her but his duty as firelord came first.She had to find a way to to get back on track.She refused to let Zuko being gone derail her plans.Ha!It wasn’t like she actually missed him,or something equally weak.No,she just needed a new punching bag someone to help keep her skills sharp.Someone she could toy with and never get tired of.A person who had a lot of sore spots but tried to cover them up.Striking them after getting past their defenses would make victory sweeter.She needed someone like,like…

IROH.

But he was leaving in a few hours.Plus there was no way Father would agree to let her go.It wasn’t like she could sneak onto his ship and travel the world with him.That would be crazy ,she was the crown princess of the fire nation,she couldn’t just go gallivanting across the world without a plan.The firelord would definitely have more than enough reason to kill her then.

_He’ll get rid of you anyway if you stay but don’t improve._

The thought scared her but she knew it was the truth.with her mind made up she made her way to her wing and quietly started packing.she took several changes of clothes,a few pouches full of money and some of the knives Mai had given her for her birthday.She was halfway through the window when she turned back and removed a tiny box from her drawer’s secret compartment. She gently took out the turtle duck plushie and put it in her bag.With that ,the crown princess vanished into the night,not even leaving a note behind.

The following morning when the Dragon of the West set sail he left with a stowaway hiding in the engine room.Two days after departure he watched the sunrise over the sea and breathed in deeply.

“Niece,Would you like to have some tea?” A simple statement,uttered quietly and carried by the wind.

A young girl materialized from the shadows looking disgruntled at having been discovered .She stood beside the defeated looking old man not saying anything.Together they watched the rest of the sun emerge.The old man turned towards the girl before heading below deck and he heard smaller,lighter footsteps following him.

_Please,give me the strength to save this child,I’ve failed the other two,but please,let me at least save her._

The old man prayed as the door closed.He never turned back as they descended down the stairs,so he never saw the little ghost boy watching them go.A small,sad smile on his cherubic face as he gave them a slight bow.

A blessing given by the spirits themselves.

_“…Goodbye Azula,I love you…”_

The words floated into the girl’s mind and she looked up expecting to see her brother,only to be met with her uncle’s back.somehow they hadn’t sounded as hollow as her memories usually made Zuzu’s voice sound. They’d been warm and kind,and the tone had been the same annoying pitch Zuko had had.Strangely enough it made her feel like some of the cracks she could feel in her were closing.A genuine smile played at the corner of her lips as she followed her uncle,suddenly feeling much better than she had in a long time.


End file.
